Samaritan House

Shelter services: in fy24, a total of 69,422 nights of shelter were provided to 810 unduplicated individuals throughout the year across all three of our shelter programs. Our expanded shelter services program is an integral component of san mateo county's housing crisis resolution system offering short-term, emergency housing with supportive services to swiftly transition clients into permanent housing. Services encompass nutrition; intensive case management; housing location services; counseling; medical, dental, and behavioral health care; educational programming; linkages to federal, state, and local benefits; employment assistance/job training; legal services; life skills training; substance abuse treatment services; and supportive services.

Free medical and dental clinics: the free clinics of san mateo and redwood city provide medical, dental, vision, and mental health services at no cost to medically underserved residents of san mateo county. Clinic patients are uninsured and unable to afford outof-pocket healthcare costs, such as premiums, copays, or deductibles of coverage. In fy24, the clinics served more than 8,800 patient visits with the help of 84 volunteer professionals. Both clinics rely on a volunteer-based model of service, including volunteer medical professionals, such as physicians, nurses, dentists, nurse practioners, interpreters, and other clinical and administrative staff, to operate the clinics. Volunteers contributed 3,985 volunteer hours during the year. Launched in 2016, samaritan house's food pharmacy program was the first in california. At each of our two clinic locations, patients with diabetes fill "prescriptions" for free nutritious food. Through this program, we distributed 22,055 bags of food. Providing primary and preventive care to the medically underserved and uninsured not only benefits those receiving the care, but also accrues benefits to the community at large. Vaccinations reduce the spread of infectious diseases in a community. Keeping residents healthy improves the workforce and economy. Having a primary source of care reduces dependence on hospital emergency room visits at a considerable cost savings.

Homelessness prevention services: homelessness prevention services target families in crisis and at imminent risk of becoming homeless. The program provides rental and deposit assistance, utility assistance, transportation, and other critical needs in order for families to stablize their housing situation. As lead core service agency for san mateo county, we are responsible for the procurement and processing of all financial assistance for the region's network of seven core service agencies. In fy24, we distributed $3,289,877 in direct emergency financial assistance, including rent, utilities, and other critical needs to 1,141 families (3,081 individuals) who were at risk of homelessness, providing an average of $2,883 in financial assistance per household.

Coordinated entry system:since 2017, samaritan house has been under contract with san mateo county human services agency (hsa) center on homelessness as the operator of the county's coordinated entry system (ces), closely partnering with numerous government agencies, core service agencies, homeless outreach providers, domestic violence providers, correctional facilities, medical facilities, and other identified providers to deliver services. Over the past three years, the ces referral network has experienced a 30% surge, increasing from 8 to an impressive 18 agencies. In fy24, ces served 3,113 individuals countywide.ces aims for functional zero homelessness integrating a coordinated framework centered on housing crisis resolution, including preventing homelessness through diversion, as well as a standardized process for accessing homeless services for individuals and households experiencing homelessness. The program leverages unhoused clients' resources and resiliency to secure housing arrangements with a shelter placement as the last resort. This strategy prevents homelessness for people seeking shelter by helping them identify immediate alternate housing arrangements and, if necessary, connect them with services and financial assistance to help them return to permanent housing. Samaritan house (1) oversees initial screening of unsheltered households, (2) provides shelter diversion to those currently unhoused or at imminent risk of homelessness, (3) conducts standardized assessments, and (4) facilitates interim housing placements. Collaborating closely with hsa, we manage matching and referrals for housing interventions, striving to improve the lives of san mateo county's working poor and their families by addressing systemic inequities, alleviating poverty, and creating socio-economic benefits.

Worker resource center:the worker resource center (wrc) matches temporary laborers with potential employers. Managed by samaritan house and funded by the city of san mateo, the wrc opened in 2003 with the goal of providing a safe place for employers and employees to meet. In fy24, 492 clients were matched to over 4,500 jobs. Additionally, we provide esl classes, computer learning, community engagement, training on basic maintenance and landscape services, employment services, and referrals.